President donald trumps

US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi showered praise on the state of bilateral relations at the White House on Monday, in the first face-to-face meeting between the leaders of the world's two largest democracies. As Modi sought to frame a more influential and prosperous India as a win-win for both countries, Trump said he looked forward to an economic and trade relationship that was "fair and reciprocal" to drive job growth in both countries. "The relationship between India and the United States has never been stronger, never been better," Trump said alongside Modi in the Rose Garden in front of top US and Indian officials and the media. Read: Trump and Modi -- American and Indian populists meet in Washington "I am thrilled to salute you, Prime Minister Modi, and the Indian people for all you are accomplishing together. Your accomplishments have been vast," Trump said, praising India's economic growth. "We hope we'll be catching you very soon in terms of … [Read more...] about US President Donald Trump, PM Narendra Modi praise India-US relations

A federal court on Monday blocked US President Donald Trump's ban on transgender people in the military, citing the "inherent inequality" in the law. A moratorium on the Defense Department paying for gender reassignment surgery was upheld. Former President Barack Obama had taken the historic step of allowing transgender personnel to serve openly in the armed forces. The ruling also barred anyone from being discharged on the basis of gender identity. The decision was originally meant to take effect at the start of 2018, but the Trump administration announced in July that there would be a six-month delay in implementing the rule. One month later, Trump signed a memorandum reversing Obama's decision, writing on Twitter that transgender individuals could not serve "in any capacity." He then ordered the Pentagon to draft by March 2018 new policy on transgender service members. Revert to the status quo US District Judge for the District of Columbia Colleen … [Read more...] about US federal judge blocks President Donald Trump’s military transgender ban

DW: President Donald Trump has been in office now for six months and it is fair to say that it has been a very rocky half-year. As his biographer you already had deeper insights into Trump than the general public. Did you expect things to turn out the way they did or did the first six months of the Trump presidency surprise you too? Gwenda Blair: In one word - no. I don't claim to have a crystal ball, but I don't think one needed one. The kind of proposition that he made was that he would bring his business experience to the White House. And people thought that meant that he would use it on behalf of the country. Read: 100 days of President Trump: What you need to know I think he has brought his business experience to the White House, but he has used it on his behalf. He had a for-profit brand-building business and now he has made the White House a for-profit brand-building operation. And so in that sense, I don't think it is surprising. One striking characteristic of his … [Read more...] about President Donald Trump after six months: Expect more of the same

The White House is working with other countries to prepare "robust" economic sanctions against the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, senior US officials said Tuesday. When asked about possible measures targeting Venezuela's oil sector, an official who spoke on condition of anonymity told reporters: "All options are on the table, all options are being debated." The official did not specify what the sanctions would be, but stressed that any decisions would take the potential impact on American jobs and the economy into account. "We understand that we're working with options that will have consequences not just in Venezuela, but also in the United States," the official said. Dreams of a 'dictator' Venezuela's government, meanwhile, vowed to go ahead with its plan for a July 30 vote to elect a controversial assembly that would have the power to rewrite the country's constitution, despite international condemnation. "Nothing and nobody can stop it. The … [Read more...] about ‘All options on the table’ as US President Donald Trump mulls Venezuela sanctions

Ahead of Trump's 100th day in the White House, DW asked Germans living in the United States to rate President Donald Trump's performance. In New York, DW's Miodrag Soric met Michael Hansen who heads a tech training firm with over 5,000 employees worldwide: - 'America first!' Trump promised to swiftly check off the list of his campaign promises once he became president. What looked like a promising start for his administration quickly sunk into the mire of Washington. Here's a look at his top five campaign promises: - 100 days as president: Trump's top 5 campaign promises - That wall Trump's pledge to build a wall on the US-Mexican border has left many people on edge. In the border city of Nogales, the gaps between fences often provide divided family members with the only glimpse of each other. - Culture shock After 100 days, Trump's presidency has brought exclusion, says US-based German photographer Reiner Leist. He told DW how politics change the way we … [Read more...] about 100 days of US President Donald Trump: What you need to know

German Chancellor Angela Merkel had some harsh words for US President Donald Trump at an event organized by the Handelsblatt newspaper on Wednesday. Speaking with reporters, she warned that Germany would not blindly follow the United States into a war with North Korea. She added that Trump's "America First" attitude was putting him at risk of decreasing his country's importance on the world stage. "An America that does not care about the rest of the world and just thinks about itself does not make for a big and great country," said the chancellor, contradicting the US president's insistence that his isolationist policies will make the US "win" against its rivals. Merkel was even clearer on the subject of North Korea: Germany has no intention of being dragged into a war on the other side of the world. 'I do not agree' that diplomacy won't work "I do not agree that all diplomatic means have been exhausted," Merkel said. She pointed out that North Korea's neighbors, such as China, … [Read more...] about Chancellor Angela Merkel: President Donald Trump’s isolationism risks making US irrelevant, not great

US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump headed Monday morning to the flag-draped Pentagon to lay a wreath in tribute to the 2,977 killed 16 years ago on September 11 when Al-Qaeda hijackers slammed airplanes into the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, as well as crashing another plane in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Their visit to the Department of Defense building in Arlington, Virginia where 184 people lost their lives came after a moment of silence on the south lawn of the White House alongside other White House and administration officials at 8:46 a.m. — the moment when the first plane struck the north Twin Tower. A moment of silence was also held at Ground Zero in New York City. Read more: Opinion: September 11 was a historic turning point 'Our entire nation grieves' In his first commemoration of the attack as US president, Trump had words of comfort for those whose loved ones were killed. "For the families with us on this … [Read more...] about US President Donald Trump marks 9/11 anniversary with warning for ‘savage killers’

In a statement made during his visit to San Juan, Puerto Rico, President Donald Trump said that the US territory could be "very proud" of the low death count in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, which slammed the island two weeks ago. He simultaneously implied that the natural disaster that killed 34 people, left millions without power and many without food and water was not a "real catastrophe." "If you look at a real catastrophe like Katrina and you look at the tremendous hundreds and hundreds of people that died and you look at what happened here with a storm that was just totally overpowering, nobody's ever seen anything like this," the president said. His comments came before a Puerto Rico official more than doubled the death toll from 16 to 34. Hurricane Katrina killed 1,836 people in the United States in 2005. Trump also pointed out that the hurricane damage in Puerto Rico required the US to spend federal money on disaster relief. "Now I hate to tell you, Puerto Rico, but … [Read more...] about US President Donald Trump in Puerto Rico says Hurricane Maria devastation not ‘real catastrophe’

Republican Senator Jeff Flake took aim at US President Donald Trump on Tuesday as Flake announced that he would not run for re-election in 2018. "There are times we must risk our careers. Now is such a time," the Arizona senator said in a speech on the Senate floor. He criticized the path that the Republican Party has taken under Trump, decrying the "flagrant disregard of truth and decency" that is dragging down politics. "We must stop pretending that the degradation of politics and the conduct of some in our executive branch are normal. They are not normal," the senator said. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Flake's decision not to seek re-election was "probably a good move," arguing that he lacks enough support from voters in Arizona. Flake, who has served in the Senate since 2013, has been an outspoken critic of the Trump administration. He became the second Republican to announce he would not be running for re-election next year, joining … [Read more...] about US President Donald Trump in war of words with Republican senators

The mother of Sgt. La David T. Johnson, who was killed in an ambush by Islamist militants in Niger this month, told The Washington Post newspaper on Wednesday that US President Donald Trump "disrespected" her son in a condolence phone call. Cowanda Jones-Johnson backed the account of Florida congresswoman Frederica Wilson, a Democrat, who claimed Trump told Johnson's widow, Myeshia Johnson, that her husband "must have known what he signed up for." "President Trump did disrespect my son and my daughter and also me and my husband," Jones-Johnson told The Washington Post. Trump's statement was first reported by Wilson, who said she was with Johnson's widow on the way to receive the fallen soldier's remains at Miami International Airport when the president called to express his condolences. According to Wilson, Trump told Myeshia Johnson that her husband "knew what he signed up for ... but when it happens it hurts anyway." The representative described the president's … [Read more...] about Fallen soldier’s mother says President Donald Trump disrespected her son